Witness to 9/11 is located in Photography Gallery in South Hall, adjacent to the Revolutionary New York exhibition and the Cohoes Mastodon display. Mounted on an exterior wall outside the gallery is a wire-frame Stokes basket used by firefighters during rescue and recovery operations. Nearly seven feet tall, the basket has a long, narrow shape designed to carry a person. Attached to the basket is a folded American flag in a traditional triangular shape. Above the entrance, a large header displays the exhibition title, Witness to 9/11, in black letters. The opening in the number 9 is designed to resemble a camera lens.

Upon entering the gallery, visitors encounter a biography panel introducing photographers Todd Maisel and David Handschuh. Nearby, Todd Maisel’s Nikon camera—the camera he used to capture many of the photographs on view—is displayed.

In the center of the gallery, a freestanding wall features a large photograph of the World Trade Center. The image shows flames and dark smoke pouring from the upper floors of the towers against a clear, bright blue sky. It captures the moment United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower.

The gallery itself is long and narrow, with charcoal-gray walls that create a reflective atmosphere. A series of floating walls runs down the center of the space, dividing the exhibition into five sections: Introduction, Evacuation, Aftermath, Rescue and Recovery, and Grief. These walls help organize the photographs into thematic groupings. The photographs are displayed in black wooden frames along the walls and on the freestanding partitions which include the section introductory panels and related photo enlargements.

At the far end of the gallery, exhibition cases display objects from the New York State Museum’s September 11 collection. Among the artifacts on view are a fragment of an airplane fuselage, a pay phone, and the base of a streetlamp, all associated with the attacks. Two final panels in this area explore how we remember the tragedies of September 11 at all three attack sites 25 years later. One panel features a photograph of FDNY Assistant Chief Barbara looking up at the Twin Towers before entering a building from which he would not return, serving as a reminder of the personal sacrifices made by first responders on September 11. The other shows the Tribute in Light, with two beams of light rising into the night sky above the New York City skyline in remembrance of those lost in the attacks.